Draconians
, , | worker = | worker_output = , | rebel = | rebel_output = | pop_growth = '-10 people' per turn. | standard_units = | racial_units = | restrictions = Available: Available on Shore: Not Available: }} The Draconian race is one of the 14 different humanoid Races found in the world of Master of Magic. Draconians originate from the plane of Myrror. Most Draconians possess a few important racial benefits: They have a better Defense score, a better Resistance score, can Fly at a great speed, and can even Breathe Fire. Their movement allows for early access to areas that other races might not be able to explore until later. To offset a somewhat average attack, Fire Breath and Flying gives them initiative in battle against most other Normal Units. Description Physical Features Draconians are large, humanoid dragon-kin. They hatch from eggs, but the similarities to their mud-dwelling reptilian cousins on Arcanus, the Lizardmen, end right there. Signs of draconic ancestry are immediately clear: serpentine crests, horns, slitted eyes, an emerald sheen scale coat; Draconians also on great dragon wings, they have innate magical , and can . Lucid in their speech and imperious in their manner, Draconians are most fond of arts, wealth, and the discussion of esoteric subjects. Their ability to fly quickly over land and sea is their most distinctive quality, however, and one of great interest to a Wizard. Draconians are Myrror's widest-ranging explorers and knowledge-gatherers. Society The race defends its holdings on Myrror with superb intel on enemy troop movements and the winds of change in enemy societies. Draconian strongholds pursue trade and academic relationships with rivals whenever possible, though if they sense war, they will strike first and strike hard. It is not unheard-of for a Wizard to come under attack by a team of Doom Drakes early in his career on Myrror, if the Draconians get on edge. Draconians believe that to discriminate amongst each other according to one's parentage is, ultimately, to scorn the entire race's dragon heritage. Noble titles are therefore abolished by Draconian law. Dragons are immortal spirits, and many are known by name and revered as ancestors and gods in the Draconian religion. A military cabal and a bureaucracy run each city in place of hereditary rulers, and create their own set of problems and payoffs. The Draconian people suffer a '-10 growth rate' in the stifling atmosphere. Governorship of other races is harsh, and for their part, conquered Draconians are extremely litigious and will make the conqueror's life difficult. Otherwise, certain bureaucratic innovations like magically-bound contracts and coins, and well-managed standards for guildware, allow the Draconian people to reach high levels of learning and productivity, and their cities to generate large quantities of magical . Army is a rule-changer in combat and can prove decisive. Draconian hand-to-hand fighters may gang up on targets of choice and issue their fiery breath attacks; their ranged units can close distances and unload with impunity; and their magical support units are safe from land-bound reprisals. Draconians make effective, if expensive, town garrisons on account of being airborne. They may choose whether or not they wish to engage invading forces. Most of this race's regulars require 2.5 times the baseline to train. Take care not to let lead into irrational attacks, however. No Myrran race's military should be underestimated. Draconians should take time to build up strength while scouring the map for winnable battles. In scouting, this race is peerless. Army List Below is a comparative list of all Draconian Normal Units. This list shows all units at their first , with no additional modifiers or magical effects. Force Composition Draconians can effectively utilize units as they become available, in part due to their ability to Fly. Doom Drakes and Air Ships may be added if needed. Draconian Settlers Draconian Settlers have several good benefits, but most importantly they can . This allows them to cross any kind of rough Terrain quickly, and to cross Oceans just as easily. also gives them a larger Sight Range which helps these Settlers avoid sudden enemy attacks. Furthermore, Settlers are less likely to be in trouble whenever attacked: they cannot be attacked by most enemy units at all. Furthermore, Draconian Settlers possess slightly better than the baseline template. They cost 2.5 more to produce, and have a higher Upkeep Cost, but this is easily worth the ease at which your empire will expand during the early game. Draconian Engineers * (NA in version 1.31) Draconian Engineers were removed from the game. The link is provided to the page that covers their attributes, but are left out of the army list and infobox on this page. Draconian Spearmen Draconian Spearmen have several advantages and very few disadvantages, making them some of the best Spearmen available. While they will still fall into disuse in the later portions of the game, Draconian Spearmen are superior early on. Draconian Spearmen are , and have a Movement Allowance of . This is a strong advantage both on the battlefield and on the overland map. Overland, Draconian Spearmen can be used as cheap scouts, since Flying gives them a Sight Range of 2. When they do go into combat, Draconian Spearmen are still , and cannot be attacked by most Melee Attack units at all. They can easily maneuver right up to their intended target - preferably a weak one - and gang up on it to destroy it. Flying is also important for Draconian Spearmen to utilize their attack, which is only executed when they voluntarily make a Melee Attack against an enemy target (not when Counter Attacking). Flying helps the Spearmen avoid enemy attacks, and only engage voluntarily - thus delivering about double their normal damage. Draconian Spearmen are also better protected from both physical and magical attacks. They possess and , both slightly better than the "baseline" Spearmen. Coupled with smart maneuvering on the battlefield, this can keep Draconian Spearmen fighting a little longer than normal. Draconian Spearmen are expensive compared to "baseline" Spearmen, costing 2.5 times more to produce. This is still fairly cheap, especially given the advantages described above. If a large army of these can be created early on, it can go off to expand your empire by force quite effectively. Draconian Swordsmen Draconian Swordsmen have several advantages and very few disadvantages, making them some of the best Swordsmen available. While they will still fall into disuse in the later portions of the game, Draconian Swordsmen are superior early on. Draconian Swordsmen are , and have a Movement Allowance of . This is a strong advantage both on the battlefield and on the overland map. Overland, Draconian Swordsmen can be used as cheap scouts, since Flying gives them a Sight Range of 2. When they do go into combat, Draconian Swordsmen are still , and cannot be attacked by most Melee Attack units at all. They can easily maneuver right up to their intended target - preferably a weak one - and gang up on it to destroy it. Flying is also important for Draconian Swordsmen to utilize their attack, which is only executed when they voluntarily make a Melee Attack against an enemy target (not when Counter Attacking). Flying helps the Swordsmen avoid enemy attacks, and only engage voluntarily - thus delivering slightly more than their normal damage. Draconian Swordsmen are also better protected from both physical and magical attacks. They possess and , both slightly better than the "baseline" Swordsmen. Coupled with smart maneuvering on the battlefield, this can keep Draconian Swordsmen fighting a little longer than normal. Draconian Swordsmen are expensive compared to "baseline" Swordsmen, costing 2.5 times more to produce. This is still fairly cheap, especially given the advantages described above. If a large army of these can be created early on, it can go off to expand your empire by force quite effectively. Draconian Halberdiers Draconian Halberdiers have many racial advantages, making them some of the best Halberdiers available. Their biggest advantage is their ability and speed, which allows them to easily reach and attack any target. Flying also prevents most enemy units from attacking the Draconian Halberdiers, allowing the Draconians to pick and choose their targets. This is extremely important, since when making a voluntary Melee Attack against any target, the Draconian Halberdiers unleash a Fire Breath attack of strength per figure, which can kill off a few enemy figures straight away before they can retaliate. Furthermore, Draconian Halberdiers are much more durable in combat thanks to higher and scores. They should be able to last a little longer than other Halberdiers, particularly when faced with enemy low-tier Normal Units. Of course this does not come without a price: Draconian Halberdiers cost 2.5 times more to produce than the "baseline" Halberdiers. This means that a Draconian empire will take longer to produce a large group of these. Upkeep Costs are also slightly higher compared to the baseline. Draconian Bowmen Draconian Bowmen have several advantages and very few disadvantages, making them some of the best Bowmen available. While they will still fall into disuse in the later portions of the game, Draconian Bowmen are superior early on. Draconian Bowmen are , and have a Movement Allowance of . This is a strong advantage both on the battlefield and on the overland map. Overland, Draconian Bowmen can be used as cheap scouts, since Flying gives them a Sight Range of 2. When they do go into combat, Draconian Bowmen are still , and cannot be attacked by most Melee Attack units at all. They can easily maneuver close to their enemies, nullifying the distance penalty before unleashing their (still weak) Ranged Attack. They can also back away from the enemy while still shooting. Draconian Bowmen are also better protected from both physical and magical attacks. They possess and , both slightly better than the "baseline" Bowmen. Coupled with smart maneuvering on the battlefield, this can keep Draconian Bowmen fighting a little longer than normal. Draconian Bowmen are surprisingly cheap given the above advantages: they cost only 50% more to produce than the "baseline" Bowmen, and do not have a higher Upkeep Cost. Nonetheless, Draconian Bowmen are still normally replaced by better Ranged Attack units later in the game, but low costs allow the Draconians to produce masses of these early on if necessary. Draconian Shamans Draconian Shamans are the epitome of mobile support. They are 50% more expensive to produce than "baseline" Shamans, and have a slightly higher Upkeep Cost, but have many advantages that are certainly worth the price. Draconian Shamans are , and have a Movement Allowance of . This is a major advantage both on the battlefield and on the overland map. Overland, Draconian Shamans can quickly move between armies, retreat from enemies, and even scout around to spot enemies in advance. Flying gives a Sight Range of 2, and thus Draconian Shamans can double as scouts! When they do go into combat, Draconian Shamans are still , and cannot be attacked by most Melee Attack units at all. When attacked, Draconian Shamans possess and thus are somewhat harder to kill. Some spells and Special Attacks are also less effective against them, thanks to an elevated score. If the Draconian Shamans are threatened, they can easily keep their distance from most enemies, and rely on their defense to keep them alive. Draconian Shamans are therefore top-notch Shamans for both support and purification, and are well worth the price paid for them. They rival other races' Priests in usefulness and survivability. Draconian Magicians The Draconian Magicians' primary advantage is that they are creatures. This makes it impossible for more enemy units to attack them, and as stated earlier Magicians are already immune to . Even if the enemy is capable of attacking Flying creatures, the Draconian Magicians shouldn't have too much trouble evading the attack. Furthermore, Draconian Magicians enjoy a bonus and significant bonus, both of which can be very helpful in averting harm when they are attacked. Both are of particular importance to a "support" unit like Magicians, which will generally be targeted by enemy spells. Again, this does not make Draconian Magicians suitable for Melee combat, but they may survive a little longer if it is forced upon them. Draconian Magicians are 50% more expensive to produce than baseline Magicians. They also have a higher Upkeep Cost. Doom Drakes Doom Drakes are unique to the Draconian Race, and can only be built in Draconian towns, for the Construction Cost of . The town must already contain both a Barracks and Stables for this to be possible. Doom Drakes are powerful Melee Attackers, capable of striking through armor with ease, and thus having a good chance of inflicting at least some damage on any target. Even before charging into Melee, the Doom Drakes also unleash a powerful Fire Breath attack that can kill a few enemy figures before the fight even begins. Doom Drakes are Flying creatures and move at a very high rate. Combined with their powerful Breath Attack, this fast movement speed makes the Doom Drakes a fearsome opponent on the battlefield. In addition, Doom Drakes are highly resistant to magic, and can take a lot of damage before being destroyed. Doom Drakes require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Air Ship The Air Ship is unique to the Draconian race, and can only be built in Draconian towns, for the Construction Cost of . The town must already contain a Ship Yard for this to be possible. Air Ships are the Draconian version of the Warship, a more common type of unit. It is essentially a very mobile Catapult, capable of Flying at great speeds. The Air Ship has a strong Ranged Attack that can easily hurt armored units, and can also destroy City Walls during a siege. Sadly, since patch 1.2, Air Ships are not actually "Ships" as defined by the game - since they cannot carry other units. Nonetheless, they are strong combatants and provide strong support - albeit mostly to non-'Draconian' armies. Air Ships require a hefty Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Trireme The Trireme is a Ship which can transport up to 2 units across bodies of water, and can travel at a fairly good rate. Early in the game, Triremes can help empires expand rapidly across short continental gaps or large inland seas. This is very important for Draconian empires, particularly when looking for suitable races to conquer before the mid-game phase occurs. Triremes are not very effective in combat. If one is lost, and units it was transporting at the time will sink with it, so it is important to avoid combat. Try not to rely on these for long trans-oceanic journeys. Galley The Galley is a strong transport Ship, which can carry up to 5 units across Oceans quite rapidly. This is a good ship to have in the later game, when an empire is expanding into or has gained a foothold on another continent. This will be important for more Draconian empires as they run out of races to conquer on their home continent, or for rapid colonization across the water. Galleys are fairly good in combat, is quite tough, and can be relied upon to transport troops over larger distances. Nonetheless, if a Galley does sink, all units it was transporting will immediately drown. Citizens All Draconian Towns contain Draconian citizens. These match the output of most other citizens, at , per Farmer, and per Worker. However, each Draconian citizen also produces an extra --even the rebels! Draconian citizens look like this: : Draconian Farmer. : Draconian Worker. : Draconian Rebel. Technology Draconians have an extensive urban development tree that reflects their greed and capacious skill in gathering information, wealth, and power. The controlling Wizard has a pretty wide field of options, though like any proper Myrran, this race has some peculiarities. As they have their own means of defeating gravity, Draconians never developed a penchant for the advanced engineering seen among some of the groundling races, so the Mechanicians' Guild is the one economic asset unavailable to them. In the final retail release of Master of Magic, v1.31, they cannot build roads. On the bright side, Draconians readily incorporate exotic war-vessels and live mounts in their military. The Maritime Guild and Fantastic Stable, being redundant with their existing capabilities, are neither available for construction nor terribly missed. Because this race's units are expensive, a certain amount of selectivity among the town structures is encouraged. Draconians should invest as much time as they can in getting their valuable units out into the field. The table below compares the total potential output of Draconian citizens, with reference to where they begin initially, taking into account the full extent of the race's Town Building development branches, and assuming a Tax Rate of . The Building Chart The chart below shows all Town Buildings that can be constructed in Draconian towns, as well as the buildings that cannot be constructed. It also shows the requirements to construct each building. Interracial Relations Draconians have some difficulty with most other races, especially so with other Myrran races. These difficulties can usually be overcome with additional garrisons or other means as needed, but may need special Enchantments in some cases. The table below breaks down all race relations regarding Draconian empires. The same values are used for Draconian towns controlled by empires of different races. Complementary Magic Category:Races Category:Myrran Races Category:Draconians